In the discussion on leadership, the spotlight has so far been primarily on people. We get little interactional tips and tricks that can be used for more effective leadership, but their effectiveness is limited. This book shows how the development of leadership opportunities can be influenced by the design of organizational structures. "Good organization" can, in fact, reduce the need for leadership. Anyone who wants to talk sensibly about leadership should therefore not leave organization...

When (re-)designing organizations, one must first be clear about what is meant by the structures of an organization and what can be done in order to change them. In this book, we present communication channels, programs and personnel as central structures. We also unfold the aspects that come to the forefront when one focuses on either the formal, the informal or the display side of an organization. At the core, we elaborate on how structures cause blind spots, and how these can be utilize...

When (re-)designing organizations, one must first be clear about what is meant by the structures of an organization and what can be done in order to change them. In this book, we present communication channels, programs and personnel as central structures. We also unfold the aspects that come to the forefront when one focuses on either the formal, the informal or the display side of an organization. At the core, we elaborate on how structures cause blind spots, and how these can be utilize...

Hardly any other management concept is as overused as strategy, yet at the same time hardly any other concept is as vaguely defined. As a means of escaping the conceptual jumble, this monograph suggests a systems-theoretical definition which makes it possible to sort out the various threads of the strategy discussion. Strategies are “search programs” used for finding the means to achieve previously defined goals. With these, we let classical ideas about strategy confront modern organizatio...

Companies are no longer the only organizations thatdevelop mission statements; administrations, hospitals,universities, schools and associations are following. After a phase of euphoria in which true miracles wereexpected, mission statements have come underincreasing critique for their moralizing overtones. Byapplying new approaches from organizational research,this book shows how thedevelopment and disseminationof missionstatements can be arranged in sucha way that two seemingly contradic...

In the management discourse few words are thrown about more carelessly than ‘organizational culture’. While the term is usually defined too broadly—including such phenomena as assumptions, values, traditions, articles of faith, myths and artifacts—this book applies a far more narrow concept. Organizational culture, or the informal structure of an organization, is a term used to describe the behavioral expectations in an organization that have not been decided on in a formal way but that ev...

From businesses, public administrations, universities and schools, to hospitals, prisons, political parties, or the military, peoples’ lives are inextricably bound up with organizations from cradle to grave. Yet we receive little training in how - as members, customers, voters, or patients - to deal with them. In Organizations Stefan Kühl asks and answers many questions. What are these entities that wield such strong influence in our society? What makes them tick? What are our options for...

Every change takes its toll. Stefan Kühl critically examines the blind enthusiasm that continues to celebrate the leveling of hierarchies and the decentralization of organizations. Relying on studies performed in European and U.S. companies, Kühl describes why these management concepts can carry organizations to the edge of extinction. Organizations are facing the challenge of coming to grips with the threat of losing their identity, ever-escalating complexity, and the power struggles that...

The belief that rainmakers bring rain is a superstition, but they are able to create cohesion among the people who believe in their powers. Stefan Kühl describes how the rainmaker effect works in the model of the learning organization. Many of the modern management principles that are billed as formulas for success – e.g., clear objectives, employee identification, participation, and continuous learning – fail to deliver on their promises. However, they do have other beneficial effects. Th...

In organizations, there are always situations that can’t be fixed with top-down directives. Often the only thing left to do is to craft cooperative relationships through understanding, power, or trust. The concept of lateral leadership – leading to the side – brings together ideas about how we can create processes of understanding, construct arenas of power, and build trusting (or mistrusting) relationships.

Start viewing resistance as something beneficial instead of an inconvenience that must be eliminatedBeyond No: Harnessing the Power of Resistance for Organizational Growth is a thought-provoking exploration of the concept of resistance—something that is bound to arise within every organization in response to new projects, policies, or initiatives. Rather than seeing resistance as an inconvenience that needs to be eliminated, this book invites readers to ta...

The linear, goal-oriented approach to projects that is so popular in management literature is only appropriate if you are dealing with well-defined problems. For projects that address poorly defined problems, however, the principles of classic project management don’t work; project managers attempt in vain to maintain a linear approach, even if targets, people affected and framework conditions cannot be determined precisely. We propose a fundamentally different approach based on current or...